Which term describes harmful software that is installed on a computer to steal, damage or lock data, or to take control of the system?
Malware
What is meant by 'social engineering'?
Tricking people into giving away passwords or money, because people are the weak point in a system
Which term describes guessing passwords by using software to try many different combinations until one is accepted?
Brute-force attack
What is meant by a 'denial of service attack'?
Flooding a server with so much traffic that genuine users can no longer use the service
Which term describes entering code into a web form so that data in a database can be read, changed or deleted without permission?
SQL injection
What is meant by 'data interception and theft'?
Capturing data as it is sent across a network, or stealing the device holding it, to steal the data
What is meant by a form of attack on a computer system?
A method used by a criminal to harm a system or its data
A criminal captures a shopper's card details as they are sent across a public Wi-Fi network. Which form of attack is this?
A data interception attack
An email claims to come from a bank and asks the customer to sign in using a link. Which form of attack is this?
A phishing attack
Software repeatedly tries different passwords on one account until it finds the correct one. Which form of attack is this?
A brute-force attack
Why might an attacker use a phishing email to deliver malware?
The email persuades the user to open the harmful attachment
Which of these is a threat posed by a criminal attack on a computer system?
Data may be stolen, changed or deleted
A user opens a file from a USB drive and every document on the computer becomes locked. Which form of attack is this?
Malware
A website stops responding because it is flooded with requests from an attacker. Which form of attack is this?
A denial of service attack
An attacker types code into a website's login box and is logged in without a password. Which form of attack is this?
SQL injection
A criminal steals personal data from a company's systems. Besides the data being stolen, which threat does this attack pose to the company?
It may be fined for failing to protect the data
Why might a criminal attack a company's customer database?
It holds personal and bank details that can be misused
A criminal breaks into an office and steals a laptop that holds customer records. Which form of attack is this?
Data interception and theft
What is meant by a vulnerability in a computer system?
A weakness that an attacker could take advantage of
Which term describes authorised experts deliberately attacking a system to find weaknesses that can then be fixed?
Penetration testing
What is meant by a firewall?
Software or hardware that checks network traffic and blocks anything its rules do not allow
Which term describes changing data into a form that cannot be read without a key?
Encryption
What is meant by a password?
A secret string of characters that proves a user's identity when they log in
Which term describes using locks, key cards and CCTV to protect computer hardware?
Physical security
What is meant by user access levels?
Each user is given only the access they need for their job
Which of these is an example of a vulnerability that an attacker could exploit?
Out-of-date software on a server
Why do organisations use several different prevention methods together?
No single method stops every type of attack
Which method is designed to detect, block and remove malware?
Anti-malware software
Staff are tricked into revealing their login details over the phone. Which method would limit what an attacker can access with that account?
Setting user access levels
An attacker tries thousands of password guesses against a user account. Which combination of methods best limits this brute-force attack?
Strong passwords and locking accounts after a few failed attempts
A website is made unavailable by a flood of traffic from a small number of addresses. Which method best reduces the effect of this denial of service attack?
A firewall blocking the attacking addresses
Customer data is sent over the internet and could be intercepted. Which method keeps the data unreadable if it is intercepted?
Using encryption to scramble the data
A database is at risk from SQL injection. Which method would find this weakness so that it can be fixed?
Using penetration testing to find the weakness
A company employs authorised experts to attack its own network and they find a weakness. Why does the company still have to take further action?
The experts only find weaknesses, so the company must fix them
Staff at a company can install any software they like on their computers. Which method would reduce the risk of malware being installed?
Setting user access levels for staff accounts
An employee writes their password on a note stuck to their monitor so they do not forget it. Why does this create a vulnerability?
Anyone who sees the note can log in to that account
Which of these is the best description of malware?
Software written to harm a computer, its data or its user
Which of these is a common way that malware reaches a computer?
Opening an infected attachment in an email
An employee finds a USB drive in the car park, plugs it into a work computer and the computer becomes infected. Which method of attack is this?
Infected removable storage
A user installs a free game that secretly records every key they press. What is the main purpose of this software?
To capture passwords and card numbers for fraud
Malware has encrypted a charity's files and a message demands a payment to unlock them. What is the purpose of this attack?
To extort money from the charity
A company's files have been encrypted by malware and the attacker demands a ransom. Why is paying the ransom a poor solution?
The files may not be returned after the payment
Malware has copied a shop's customer records, including names and card details. What threat does this pose to the customers?
Their details may be sold and used for identity theft
Why can malware on one computer in an office threaten all the other computers on the same network?
It can spread from the infected computer to other connected computers
A user downloads what seems to be a useful program, but it is actually malware. Why did the user run it without realising?
The malware is disguised as a program the user wants
Which of these is NOT a purpose of a malware attack?
To repair corrupted files on the victim's computer
A pupil wants a paid game for free, downloads it from a website they have not used before and the computer becomes infected. How did the malware get onto the computer?
It was downloaded from an untrusted website
A company's computers run software that has not been updated for three years. Malware gets onto the computers by taking advantage of a weakness in this software. Which method of attack is this?
A weakness in software that has not been updated
Malware has been installed on the computers in a shop. The computers have become very slow and keep crashing. What threat does this pose to the shop?
Staff cannot serve customers and the shop loses money
An attacker installs malware on hundreds of computers, then uses those computers to attack other systems. What is the purpose of this attack?
To take control of the computers to attack others
A company's computer systems are out of action for a week after a malware attack, and newspapers report the attack. What threat does this pose to the company?
It loses customers because its reputation is damaged
A company stores its customers' personal details on its computers. Malware steals this data. Which of these is a threat the company now faces?
Legal action for failing to protect the data
In a malware attack, what is meant by a ransom?
A payment demanded before the user's files will be unlocked
What is meant by data that has been corrupted?
It has been changed or damaged so that it can no longer be used
Which term describes tricking people into giving away information or access, or into doing something that weakens security?
Social engineering
What is meant by phishing?
Sending fake messages that pretend to come from a trusted organisation
Which of these is a purpose of a phishing message?
To steal login details, money or personal data
A user enters their login details on a fake website linked from a phishing email. What is the most likely threat to the organisation?
The attacker can sign in as the user and reach that account's data
Phishing is an example of which form of attack?
Social engineering
Why can a user be described as the weak point in a network?
People can be tricked into giving away their access
Which of these is a sign that an email is a phishing message?
It threatens that the account will be closed today
A phishing email contains a link to a website that looks exactly like the real bank's site. Why does the attacker do this?
So the user types their details into the attacker's page
Why might a phishing email ask the user to open an attachment?
Opening it can install malware inside the organisation
A caller claims to work for the IT department and asks a member of staff for their password to fix an account. What is this an example of?
Social engineering
Why do attackers often send the same phishing email to thousands of people?
Only a few people need to respond for the attack to work
A user receives an email asking them to confirm their bank details by clicking a link. What should the user do?
Not click the link and contact the bank directly
A company loses customer data after a successful phishing attack. Which threat does the company now face?
Damage to the company's reputation and possible legal action
An email about a parcel says it is from a well-known courier, but the link in the message points to a different web address. What does this suggest?
It is a phishing message sent by an attacker
A phishing attack gives an attacker a user's name, address and date of birth. Which threat does this pose to the user?
The details can be used to commit fraud in their name
An email that claims to come from a bank starts with 'Dear customer' and contains several spelling mistakes. What does this suggest?
It is a typical sign of a phishing message
Which way of behaving do social engineering attackers take advantage of?
Wanting to be helpful when someone asks for help
A message claiming to come from a bank asks the user to reply with their password. Why is this a sign that the message is a phishing attempt?
A genuine bank would never ask for a password this way
A caller pretends to be an engineer and asks to be let into a company's server room. What is the purpose of this attack?
To gain access to the company's network
Why do phishing messages often warn that an account will be closed very soon?
So the user acts quickly without checking the message
What is a brute-force attack?
Software automatically tries many passwords or PINs until one works
Which password would a brute-force attack most quickly find?
A short word found in a dictionary
What is the effect of a denial of service attack on a website?
Genuine users cannot reach it because the server is overwhelmed
A denial of service attack uses up resources so that genuine users cannot be served. Which resources does it use up?
Bandwidth, processing time and memory
Why can data interception on a network go unnoticed by the sender and receiver?
The attacker copies the data without changing it
A shopper's card details are copied by an attacker while the data travels across a cafe's network. Which form of attack is this?
Data interception
An attacker steals a company laptop so they can read the customer records stored on it. Which form of attack is this?
Data theft
How does an SQL injection attack work?
SQL code typed into a form becomes part of the website's database command
What can an attacker achieve by using SQL injection on a website's login form?
Logging in without knowing the correct password
An attacker types ' OR '1'='1 into a password box and is logged in. Why does this work?
It makes the login condition true for every record
An attacker uses brute-force software to find a user's password. What is the attacker most likely to do next?
Read, change or delete anything the account can reach
A website finds that records in its customer database have been changed and some have been deleted. Which form of attack is most likely to have caused this?
SQL injection
A group of protesters floods a council website with traffic so that nobody is able to use it. Why do they carry out this attack?
To disrupt the service and damage the organisation's reputation
A shopper's card details and passwords are copied while they use an unsecured public Wi-Fi network. What is the attacker most likely to do with them?
Use them to commit fraud or identity theft
Software tries thousands of different passwords on a single account in less than a minute. Which form of attack is this?
Brute-force attack
Which term describes the flooding of a server with so many requests that genuine users are unable to use it?
Denial of service attack
What is meant by data interception?
Capturing data as it is sent across a network so that an attacker can read it
Which of these is used by many websites to search and update the data held in a database?
Structured Query Language
What is meant by data theft?
Taking a device or storage that holds data, such as a USB drive
Which term describes a weakness in a system that an attacker could take advantage of?
Vulnerability
What is meant by penetration testing?
Security experts are given permission to attack an organisation's own systems to find weaknesses
Which term describes hardware or software that monitors data going in and out of a network and blocks traffic that the rules do not allow?
Firewall
What is meant by encryption?
Data is scrambled using a key so that it cannot be read if it is intercepted
Which term describes software that scans files and compares them with a database of signatures to detect, block and remove malicious programs?
Anti-malware software
What is meant by ciphertext?
Data that has been scrambled into an unreadable form
Which term describes malware that has been isolated so that it cannot run?
Quarantined
Which term describes turning ciphertext back into readable plaintext?
Decryption
A company receives a penetration test report. What must happen for the test to reduce the risk of an attack?
The weaknesses it identified must be fixed
How does anti-malware software recognise a known virus?
It compares the file with a database of code patterns from known malware
Why must anti-malware software be updated regularly?
So its database includes details of the newest malware
Why might anti-malware software fail to stop a brand new piece of malware?
The new virus does not match any pattern in the database
How can a firewall reduce the effect of a denial of service attack?
It can block packets sent from the addresses carrying out the flood
A laptop holding customer records is stolen. How does encryption reduce the harm caused?
The thief cannot read the records without the correct key
A web server is running an old version of its software with a known weakness. Which action removes this vulnerability?
Install the software update that fixes the weakness
Security experts test a company's network twice. For the second test they are given a staff account and knowledge of how the network is set up. What kind of attacker does this test imitate?
An insider who already has an account on the network
A firewall blocks all traffic that its rules do not allow. Which attack can the firewall not stop?
A user opening an attachment in a phishing email
A computer is already infected with malware. Which action will remove the malware?
Running anti-malware software that detects and removes it
A company uses firewalls, anti-malware software, encryption and penetration testing. Why does it not rely on just one of these?
No single method stops every kind of attack
A new program is not in the anti-malware database, but the software blocks it when the program tries to change hundreds of files at once. How did the software detect the malware?
By watching for suspicious behaviour
Malware on a computer is trying to send customer records to an attacker over the internet. How can a firewall reduce the harm?
It blocks the connection being used to send the records
A user chooses the password 'Fluffy2010', using a pet's name and a year. Why is this a weak password?
It contains personal details that others could guess
A system locks an account after three failed login attempts. Which threat does this mainly reduce?
A brute-force attack guessing the password
An attacker steals the login details of a receptionist's account at a surgery. Which method limits the damage that can be done?
User access levels
Which of these is an example of physical security?
A key card lock on the server room door
How does a cable lock help to keep a computer in a classroom secure?
It stops the computer being carried away
A member of staff leaves the company. What should be done to their account to remove a vulnerability?
Delete or disable the account
Why should a user have a different password for each account they use?
So a leaked password does not expose other accounts
An intruder wants to connect their own laptop to a school network. Which measure best stops this?
Locking the network cabinets and server rooms
A new server is supplied with the default password 'password'. Why does the network manager change it before the server is used?
So that people cannot log in using the widely known password
On a school network, only network administrators can install new software. How does this help to keep the network secure?
Users cannot install malware themselves
A data centre signs in all visitors and makes sure they are escorted at all times. What does this prevent?
Visitors reaching equipment they are not allowed to touch
A worker writes their network password on a note and leaves it on their desk. Why does this make the account less secure?
Anyone who sees the note can log in as the worker
Which term describes the process of proving that a user logging in is the owner of the account?
Authentication
What is meant by physical security?
Protecting the hardware and stopping people from getting physical access to it
What is meant by a strong password?
A long password that mixes different character types
What is meant by unauthorised access?
Getting into an account or a system without permission to do so
Which term describes a door entry system that opens when it recognises a person's fingerprint?
Biometric lock
What is the purpose of CCTV as a form of physical security?
To record who enters and moves around a building
Which measure stops somebody using a computer that has been left logged in?
Locking the screen before leaving the desk
A user is given read and write access to a folder, but not delete access. What can the user do in the folder?